Noel Manetti

1st space – inside: RIA Atelier, Oerlikon

RIA is a “Stattwerk,” an industrial workshop transformed into a studio for the architecture department of ETH Zurich. Working for hours in such a space makes it impossible to ignore the room’s acoustics. In fact, the sound can quickly become chaotic and irritating due to poor acoustic control. It’s difficult to understand people that are speaking close to you. The surfaces, primarily made of concrete and glass, reflect noise, amplifying it throughout the space.

Compounding the issue is the fact that the room typically accommodates around 30 people simultaneously, either conversing or using tools. Consequently, sounds are amplified by the room, creating a thunderous effect. It is often challenging to understand conversations with those nearby due to the overwhelming noise.

Acoustic comfort can be improved by opening the large roll-up door, which allows noise to escape rather than reverberate within the space.

Reverberating-booming-cavernous-expansive-Echoing-(Rimbombante)

2nd space – outside: Spielplatz im Birch, Oerlikon

The exterior courtyard of this location presents an intriguing acoustic environment. Sounds are reflected by the surrounding block buildings, while the glass/concrete walls as well as the asphalt flooring amplify the noise. Unlike enclosed spaces, where sound is trapped and echoed, here the noise can spread freely into the air. Voices and distant shouts are also accentuated in this open area. During certain times of the day, the courtyard can become quite loud, especially with the presence of many children and pedestrians passing through.

The acoustic of the space reminds of the acoustic of an amphitheatre where noises and voices expecially from far distances are still well recognizable.

Resonant-Amplified-Clear-Echoing

2 Exploring the Emotional Impact of Everyday Sounds

Church Park

The acoustic environment of a park near a church is a serene and harmonious blend of sounds. The gentle ringing of the church bells echoes through the air, creating a tone that resonates across the open space. In the meantime it’s possible the soft sound of birds singing in the trees. The park feel like a tranquil oasis inside the city of Zurich.

1:11 Ring bell

0:07: workers hammering

Birds singing: calming but can be a distractive sound. They are unexpected but soft sings. Mainly high-pitched, melodic tones that vary in frequency and intensity. Depending on the environment, the birds’ calls may either reverberate softly or blend into the background. They normally sing more in the moring.

Bell ring: defenitely the most emerging sound that personally makes me fell relaxed and like at home. It’s not that melodic but more ryhtmatic and ripetitive. It’s a recurring sound that during the may makes me have a conception of the time that is passing. Firsts notes of the motif have a high frequency while in the last part they have low frequency. Very “metallic” and resonating sound with volume sound. It is possible to be heard from far distaces.

Workers in the distace: Unexpected and distracting sound reverberating.

Airplains: The acoustics of an airplane’s reverberation in the sky create a distant, rumbling effect. As the sound travels across the open air, it becomes diffuse and expansive, spreading out and softening as it reaches the listenervery low frequency sound.

Oerlikon train station

2:39: bus driver laugh
2:22: train approaching

The acoustic environment of the Oerlikon’s train station is a layered blend of sounds. We can hear people chatting, laughing and murmuring. The voices of people standing under the bus stop’s canopy are considerably amblified by the effect of the reflection on the concrete roof . The main covering and predominant noise is the train as it gets closer, the sound becomes a metallic clattering of wheels on tracks. . Both the platform’s canopy and the bus stop’s canopy are made in metal or concrete. For this reason there is no sound absorption.

train noise: It’s definitely a irritating and harsh noise, expecially considering that this noise is amplified and reflected by the canopy itself.

cars: They are more a background noise and doesen’t predominate on other ones that are closer and amplified.

laughs: the more predominant noises, they come unexpectedly and can often be irritatin or on the other side they can be funny.

Empirical and numerical estimation of
room acoustic properties

For this exercise I went back to the acoustic of the RIA atelier studio in Oerlikon to investigate more the reverberation qualities and disadvantages of the room.

Clapping

1)

RT₆₀= (4,65 s – 3,7 s)*2 = 1,9s

2)

RT₆₀= (7,5 s – 4,1 s) = 3,4 s

Hammer (20 m distance from the recorder)

RT₆₀= (6,2 s – 3,5 s)*2 = 5,4 s

4 Characterization of room acoustic treatments

There is no type of acoustic control present, as all surfaces are made of sound-reflective materials such as concrete, steel, bricks, or glass. These materials may be highly reflective across a wide range of frequencies, but they tend to reflect high and mid frequencies more effectively, contributing to reverberation in these ranges. This can be perceived as a strong echo, particularly with high-pitched sounds. The only thing present in the room that could absorb noise are the people. The workshop features a sloped skylight running the entire length of the ceiling. I assume that this element plays an important role in further sound reflection.

To enhance the space’s acoustic performance, curtains could be installed around the glazed walls, providing both sound absorption and protection. Additionally, the considerable height of the room offers an opportunity to suspend absorbers within the space. These could be designed in various geometries, as their shapes and orientations would influence how they interact with and redirect reflected sound waves.

5. The full picture

Considering a reverberation time of 3,4 s and esimating the volume of the space around 5400 m3 (16m * 28m *12m)

The current reverberation time is not suitable for a student workspace designed to accommodate 60 people at once. Acoustic treatment interventions would be necessary to meet educational standards and ensure a more functional environment. For this reason, ETH mandates the use of acoustic protection in cases where activities like hammering take place in the room.

We shlould take in consideration that the space in question was originally designed as a workshop for industrial production and later converted into an educational environment where presentations and discussions take place. However, this functional conversion was not accompanied by an assessment of the space’s acoustic quality. Workshops and production areas typically adhere to less stringent acoustic standards compared to educational and workshop environments, as speech intelligibility and acoustic comfort are not usually a priority in such operational spaces.

Metallic bar hitting the ground

The sound of a metallic bar hitting the ground is a characteristic yet highly disruptive noise in the RIA space. This often occurs accidentally when people handling metallic tools or materials drop them by mistake. The resulting sound, dominated by high frequencies, is amplified and reflected throughout the space by the concrete surfaces, which are more reflective of high frequencies than low ones.